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How not to be a gentrifier in the Bay Area

Alix Martichoux, SFGATE| on
October 16, 2018

"Don’t be that person when a SF eatery opens a branch in Oakland who says, 'Finally! It’s the best fried chicken, ice cream, burger, pizza or whatever.' We have really great local stuff here too." —Arwa Toulan, Oakland resident

"Don’t be that person when a SF eatery opens a branch in Oakland who says, 'Finally! It’s the best fried chicken, ice cream, burger, pizza or whatever.' We have really great local stuff here too." —Arwa

"Don’t be that person when a SF eatery opens a branch in Oakland who says, 'Finally! It’s the best fried chicken, ice cream, burger, pizza or whatever.' We have really great local stuff here too." —Arwa Toulan, Oakland resident

"Don’t be that person when a SF eatery opens a branch in Oakland who says, 'Finally! It’s the best fried chicken, ice cream, burger, pizza or whatever.' We have really great local stuff here too." —Arwa

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But have you ever stopped to consider if you're a part of the problem?

"Very few people would self-identify as a gentrifier," says Megan Orpwood-Russell, an organizer for housing advocacy group YAH! (Yes to Affordable Housing!). And the lines can get fuzzy.

"If you're moving into a historically disinvested neighborhood and you have economic, educational, and/or racial privilege, you may be taking part in processes of gentrification," explains Anna Cash, associate director of UC Berkeley's Urban Displacement Project.

Socioeconomic status plays a big role — if your income is significantly higher than those living in the neighborhood, that's a surefire sign you're a gentrifier. Gentrifiers are often, but not always, white, adds Cash. And even if you were priced out of your own neighborhood, you could still fit the bill.

"There's no 'get out of jail free' card. You can't do all the right things and absolve yourself so that you're no longer a gentrifier, just like you can't no longer be white," says Orpwood-Russell. "But you can check your biases, acknowledge your privilege, and fight the systems that create gentrification."

You may be thinking that gentrification isn't all that bad. When rich people move in, their money comes with them, which could revitalize an area.

The problem with gentrification, according to those who study it, isn't that the neighborhood is changing, per se. It's that not everyone gets to stick around to reap the benefits. "In many cases longtime residents were asking for these kinds of changes and they were ignored," says Cash.

We asked people who live in some of the Bay Area's most rapidly gentrifying cities if there's any way to avoid being a gentrifier, or at least a stereotypical one. Click through the slideshow to read what residents of Oakland, Richmond, Vallejo and San Francisco want newcomers to know. There's lots you can do to minimize your negative impact on your new neighborhood, from smiling at your neighbors to thinking twice before calling the cops.

"The most important thing is to recognize the history of your neighborhood and city. Don't treat the place like it was a blank slate before white people or gentrifiers arrived," Cash adds.

A great place to start is researching the history of redlining in your neighborhood. Redlining refers to a discriminatory practice by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (a federal agency) that made it harder to get a loan in certain neighborhoods that were deemed "hazardous." Whether or not an area was labeled "hazardous" (a.k.a redlined) depended heavily on its racial makeup. The policy led to "cycles of disinvestment," according to the Urban Displacement Project.

You can also put your money where your mouth is and support mom-and-pop stores and businesses owned by people of color. Activists put together this list of cafes in Berkeley and Oakland that are P.O.C.-owned.

And if you're really upset about gentrification, do something about it, says Orpwood-Russell.

"Participate in local politics. It's the biggest one of all. We need to change the larger systems that perpetuate gentrification."